Winner of the First Steps Award, PHILIPP is Fabian Möhrke's diploma film from the Academy of Film and Television in Potsdam. Philipp suffers from not being able to detach himself from his cool and friendly (and hovering) father.
Philipp is fifteen. Bernd, Philipp’s dad, does what he can to be a good buddy to his son. He’s hospitable to his friends. He organizes Philipp’s birthday party. He’s even full of understanding when Philipp steals from him. And it’s not just Philipp’s friends that think Bernd’s a really cool dad; even Caro, Philipp’s new girlfriend, takes a shine to him. Whatever Philipp does or wherever he goes, Bernd is already there waiting with a benevolent smile. Without meaning any harm, Bernd is smothering his son.
"In this family drama, all situations have at least a dual trajectory, and Möhrke succeeds in depicting with depth and clarity the unspoken and multi-layered relationship between the characters . The ensemble of the actors is equally appropriately cast and plays credibly and intensively, whereby Max Hegewald deserves special praise in the title role, as his role required him to always appear cramped and yet (especially in relation to his girlfriend) he still appears astonishingly expressive.". (fbw-filmbewertung. com)

Exclusively on realeyz.de: RÜDIGER - EXIT AS ASCENSION, a mockumentary by Patrick Siegfried Zimmer (ANHEDONIA) about a quirky escapist who experiences moral ascension through a ludicrous identity change.
After the exhausting work put into ANHEDONIA, Rüdiger, decides to pursue an alternative life plan. Now he lives in seclusion with his animals, indulges in art and recites lofty quotes heavy with meaning. He describes himself as "very intelligent, unbelievably handsome, incredibly talented and overly modest."
Patrick Siegfried Zimmer, also known to music aficionados under his pseudonym "Finn", is a pioneer of Indietronic music and a representative of Lo-Fi. His work appears on the labels Sunday Service and [PIAS] Recordings. Patrick Siegfried Zimmer is also a director, author, film and music producer, singer, songwriter, designer and actor.

In René Rausch's crowd-founded thriller OSTZONE, three young West Germans find more than they bargained for when they buy an old building in the former East Germany.
Linda and Marius are social workers and were looking for a inexpenisve empty building in the former GDR to turn into a home for children with learning disabilities. Together with her friend Marie, she sets off to tour the building. To their surprise, the young couple were able to buy the building with very little red tape. The former children's hospital, however, seems to contain a secret that the real estate agent Mrs. Wagner had kept secret from them.
"Because of the visuals and the awesome location, you can create a very foreboding atmosphere here. We couldn't have found a better old abandoned old clinic. It's really a perfect location." (splatgore. com)

When can you say that you've made something of your life? Philipp Eichholtz's tragicomedy Mumblecore masterpiece LUCA TANZT LEISE - DANCING QUIETLY premiered at the Max Ophüls Prize Film Festival.
"Appropriately serious and at the same time unbelievably funny, Martina Schöne-Radunski is a force in the leading role and plays herself into our hearts in no time at all. Truly a very (very, very) good movie!"(www.spielfilm.de)
"This film is a love letter to all those people who have to muster all their strength just to get through even the samll things in life"(Philipp Eichholtz, film director).
Luca wants to finally tackle graduating from high school after 10 dark years of depression. Her little dog Mata gives her joy and motivation. So that math doesn't stop her from graduating, Luca makes a deal with Kurt: she teaches him math and he gives her math lessons. He becomes a reliable friend, even when things get really bad for Luca.

Luise Brinkmann's mumblecore debut BEAT BEAT HEART was given a special prize
created especially for it at the New German Cinema Award: The Prize for Ensemble Spirit and Energy. "A feel-good movie about breaking up inspired by a belief in romantic love in the era of dating apps." (Süddeutsche Zeitung)
BEAT BEAT HEART is a German Mumblecore comedy about love and desire: Kerstin (Lana Cooper) believes in love with all her heart and has been waiting for the return of her ex-boyfriend Thomas (Till Wonka) for months. She has made herself comfortable wallowing in sweet memories, when her mother Charlotte (Saskia Vester) suddenly turns up a ther door and wants to move into her apartment. That tmother and daughter could't be more different in dealing with their breakups becomes clear when Charlotte - in full mid-life crisis mode - gets inspired by Kerstin's roommate Maya (Christin Nichols) to meet new men via a dating app (and bring them home!). Kerstin's comforting daydreams are now increasingly interrupted by a reality where true love seems to have become a random by-product of chance.
"Small budget, but full of exuberant energy and a remarkably fleet-footed direction by a Brinkmann from whom we or sure will be seeing many entertaining movies in the future. The film boasts a great cast that has deserved the enthusiastic audience we were able to see at the premiere.” (Jury’s statement New German Cinema New Talent Award)

Tianlin Xu, Gold Remi winner at the WorldFest Houston and nominated for the First Steps Award, tells in her documentary film COMING AND GOING the story of four Chinese boys and their hopes, dreams and the challenges they face.
"Well in the country, you can just kind of get by for years without having money. But in the city you can’t go a day without it. In rural areas there is always food in the fields, but in the city you have to pay for every little thing. Even here in this very small town, it costs 50 cents just to go to the toilet." (Cheng)
The film tells the coming-of-age story of two siblings from two different families living as neighbors in the Chinese backcountry. Two orphaned teenage brothers, Long (18) and Cheng (16), leave their remote mountain village behind to seek their fortune in two separate major cities. Meanwhile, their young neighbors, Jun (11) und Qiang (8), anxiously await the return of their father, a migrant worker who left the village a year ago.

FIRST STEPS AWARD - Nomination in documentary; North Carolina Film Awards - Board of Director’s Award Winners; Oaxaca FilmFest - Best Cinematography; Annual WorldFest Houston - GOLD REMI; Brazilian International Labour Film Festival - Luis Espinal Prize; Ischia Film Festival - BEST DOCUMENTARY in the section Denied Location; Sguardi Altrove Film Festival - SPECIAL MENTION; Olympia International Film Festival for Children and young people - Best Feature Documentary Director;

Festivals

St. Louis International Film Festival; Scenecs - The International Debut Film Festival; Anthropological Film Festival; Cinemavvenire Film Festival; Docpoint Helsinki Documentary Film Festival; Filmfestival GLOBALE Mittelhessen; Lyon International Film Festival; Silk Road Film Festival; Queens World Film Festival; Hoboken International Film Festival

BEHIND FORTUNE by Malte Wirtz (FULL PAULA) is a story about a father attempts to get in touch with his estranged son at any cost. Malte Wirtz studied film and theater at the Athanor Akademie Burghausen. BEHIND FORTUNE was his graduation film.
Father Wolfgang loves his son Jonas, who lives with his mother. The mother hates Wolfgang. Wolfgang tries to drown his grief in alcohol and ends up getting some very strange notions about he might get closer to his son.
BEHIND FORTUNE played at the Festival of Festivals, St. Petersburg, the IFCT Florida and the ALTER-NATIVE Festival in Tirgu Mures, Romania.

What do Margaret Thatcher and a Pikachu have in common? Some men think about one or the other during sex. Tomas Leach got these and similar spicy answers in his short film documentary DELAY, shown at Open City Docs London and Interfilm Berlin.
One of the last remaining secrets that men still hold on to. Delaying that magic moment. Eight men of all ages and body types talk directly to camera and describe in detail what they think about to hold off ejaculation.

Interfilm Berlin; Hamburg International Short Film Festival; Shortwaves Poland; Go Short! International Short Film Festival Nijmegen; Thin Line Film Fest; Exground Filmfest Wiesbaden; International Short Film Week Regensburg; Open City Docs; Bogotá Short Film Festival; Shnit International Shortfilmfestival; Guanajuato International Film Festival;

The short film GRIMMS MEISE by Corinne Le Hong dares a slightly different view of life in a psychiatric clinic. GRIMMS MEISE festival list includes Cannes Short Film Corner and Interfilm Berlin.
Joachim suffers from hallucinations. Suffers? Not really, because the “patrulls“, little paper men, entertain him fabulously; and his stay in the psychiatric clinic finally offers him peace and quiet, away from the turbulences of the outside world, that is until Alma enters his life, whose fairy-like appearance turns everything upside down.

The short film drama MORITZ AND THE WOODWOSE by Young German Talent Bryn Chainey explores how children utilize fantasy to deal with sickness was the winner of the Best Short Film Award at the Full Moon Horror & Fantasy Film Festival.
Moritz is a boy thrown into a dark new environment. His younger brother Adam is suffering from kidney disease and their family has relocated to the countryside to be alone. But when Moritz wanders into the forest he discovers a half-human creature trapped inside a tree. The stranger begs Moritz to help him escape and, in return, offers him a macabre bargain.
"A rather dark and delightful 20-minute short film about a young boy named Moritz caught between the worlds of life and death as he struggles with the illness of his little brother. When he wanders into the forest to be alone, he encounters an ancient being who offers a macabre bargain." (theindependentcritic.com)

Full Moon Horror & Fantasy Film Festival - Best Short Film; Cluj Shorts International Short Film Festival - The Clujshorts Trophy; San Luis Obispo International Film Festival - Best Short Film; Brest European Short Film Festival - Special Mention; Video/Film Tage Koblenz - Best Film; Granada International Short Film Festival - Special Mention;

Festivals

Kuki International Short Film Festival For Children & Youth Berlin; Filmfest Düsseldorf; International Shortfilm Festival Leuven; Fresh Wave International Short Film Festival; Genrenale; Landshuter Kurzfilmfestival; Inconnu Festival; Edinburgh Int’l Film Festival; Durban International Film Festival; Down Under Berlin – Australien Film Festival; Warsaw Film Festival; Lahore International Children’s Film Festival;

Two years of preparing for the MPU to get back a driver’s license and two years of being sober ... well, not really ... and today is the final test and the most important conversation with the psychologist. Hold on: today? TODAY???
Robert Bohrer's short comedy looks at the bête noire of many a drunk driver in Germany, MPU - MEDICAL PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT .
On this Monday morning, as Frankie leaves a Berlin club with his girlfriend Lanka, he realizes that he has totally forgotten about his big MPU appointment! They both go and Frankie tries to deal with it but So they go there and try to deal with it but Lanka keeps thinking that it is a casting Frankie has to go to…

Director Armin Thalhammer spent six weeks with the Cruz family miners in the dark, life-threateningly dangerous silver mines of Cerro Rico in Bolivia for his experimental documentary debut film of the same name, CERRO RICO. This debut student film played in festivals around the world and received numerous awards.
Armin Thalhammer and his crew decided against the classical voice from the off-line or interviews with the family members. The use of experimental audio and highly aesthetic image aesthetics tears viewers from their comfort zone.
CERRO RICO means rich mountain. This name was given to the 4000-meter-high mountain, after an Indio named Huallpa in 1545 by chance discovered a giant silver vein. Like their ancestors, the men and children dig their hammers and chisels in shifts of up to 18 hours. The estimated 15,000 miners try to wrest silver, zinc, tin and copper from the mountain.
On average, a worker dies daily in accidents or through long term exposure to work hazards such as dust. Protective equipment is a foreign word for the majority of mineros. Even the youngest son of the Cruz family died at the age of 14 in an accident in the mountain.
"Although it is relatively short at only 30 minutes, this is all the film needs to demonstrate the sheer brutality of miners' work. It shows the mining industry from its worst side. Not only in terms of the negative impact on the environment but also on the workers who are forced to work in the mines because it is literally the only way to earn their livelihood. "(Londonminingnetwork.org)

Sehsüchte – International Student Film Festival; Göttingen International Ethnographic Film Festival; International Chagng Percpectives Short Film Festival; Moscow International Documentary Festival; Vis Vienna Independent Shorts – Festival For Short Film, Animation & Music Video; Hamburg International Short Film Festival; Gdańsk Docfilm Festival; North Carolina Film Awards; First Steps Film Festival; Tirana International Film Festival; Salzburger Filmnachwuchspreis “Simon S.”; Int'l Film Festival Of The Caribbean Sea; Globale Mittelhessen; Antarctic Short - Documentary And Animation Film Festival; Finish Antarctic Research Station Aboa Antarctica; Transmediale Festival; Go Short - International Short Film Festival Nijmegen; Festival Of Tolerance - Jff Zagreb; Ethnocineca – Int’L Documentary Film Festival Vienna; Cheap Cuts Documentary Film Festival; International Motion Festival; Trt Documentary Awards; Brazilian Int'l Labour Film Festival - Mostra Cine Trabalho; One Country One Film Int'l Film Festival;

A long-term observation of five very different young people on their way to the big politics. In the documentary ELECTED, you director Nancy Brandt's debut film, follows a group of young, German politicians over a period five years, starting with their first legislature period as Bundestag delegates.
The question is: Will the working at the Bundestag change the futures of these young politicians professionally and privately? Can they actually make a difference with their ideas? And in the end, for all, the question is: will they be re-elected?
ELECTED won the Bavarian Cultural Prize for best student film and was screened at the International Documentary Film Festival Munich and the I-Represent International Documentary Film Festival.

The nameless protagonist in Jannik Tesch's drama RELEASE feels trapped in an endless spiral of work and consumption. RELEASE was featured at the Cannes Short Film Corner and the Erie International Film Festival.
The nameless protagonist flees his own consumerism and the man-made city and goes through a painful process of self-discovery. In the hostile environment of the high mountains he frees himself of his possessions – items he took with him to secure his own survival.

The Journey through Mexico to get to the US-border is potentially lethal. The documentary VIACRUCIS MIGRANTE – MIGRANT CROSSING by Hauke Lorenz gives people a voice who are on the arduous path to "the promised Land". The film focuses on a migrant shelter which is run by a Church in southern Mexico.
VIACRUCIS MIGRANTE – MIGRANT CROSSING is a documentary about the men, women and children fleeing the extremely dangerous conditions in their home countries of Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. On thier journeys they put themselves at risk of encountering many life-threatening perils. Just past the Southern Mexican border, they find a shelter with people who want to help them survive the martyrdom of the 1,700 kilometer trip to get to the USA.
Not only young men cross into Mexico. We also meet a young woman, a family and an LGBT-person, all of whom are seeking protection from organized crime in their home country. Fearing the perilous journey towards the United States, they apply for asylum in Mexico. They all are aware of the risks of the journey and take power from faith to reach the 'promised land'. People on the run towards what they hope will be a better life: José, Noé, Alberto, Natalia, Ricarter, Dionicio, Carlos, Derick and Oswaldo tell us why they have no choice but to risk their lives on the journey through Mexico.

Christoph Bach (Dutschke, Carlos, Charité) is 'the redeemer from Tempelhof' in Charlotte Roustang's THE SAVIOUR, a midlength parabel about personal doubts, unforeseen twists, and a mysterious encounter at Tempelhof airfield.
THE SAVIOUR premiered at the International Hofer Film Days, then had successful festival apperances at the Mumbai Women's International Film Festival, won the Platinum Remi Award at the Houston International Film Festival and was - of course - featured at the achtung Berlin festival.
Paul has everything he wants to be happy: a stable job, a beautiful and loving wife who is expecting their first child, and a lot of friends. But on his 37th birthday everything is about to change, all within a single day. At the mythical Tempelhof park, Berlin's ex-airport, he runs into a mysterious stranger who will make him doubt his life and invite him to open his ears. And from that moment, he will experience the rest of the day with a completely unexpected turn.

Home Of Films - International Film Festival Germany; Mumbai Women’s International Film Festival India; Worldfest Houston International Film Festival; Achtung Berlin New Berlin Film Award; International Filmfestival Of Spirituality Jakarta; KinoBerlino 2017

Premiered at the Filmfestival Max-Ophüls-Preis FAMILIAR CIRCLES by filmmaker and DFFB graduate Jonas Rothlaender investigates an deep family conflict that affects his life as a third generation family memeber.
When will it stop? The filmmaker seeks out the conflict origins and lands at doorstep of his grandfather. During his lifetime, 90-year-old Günther squandered several million dollarss, including the entire fortune of his then wife Anne, on failed stock market speculations.Now, Günther is obsessed with settling his debts (and assuaging his guilty conscious) by scoring one last big deal.
Director Jonas Rothlaender digs deep at the roots of this seemingly hopeless family conflict. It originated with his grandparents, was passed on to his mother and eventually took root in his own life. The question becomes: is reconciliation between generations even possible?
"FAMILIAR CIRCILES is introspective without resorting to self therapy. It addresses the the distress but doesn't resort to blaming... The film has created a common language, and when the film stops, the conversations starts." (Critic.de)

The DFFB production FADO and first feature by Jonas Rothlaender (FAMILIAR CIRCLES), debuted at the film festivals Achtung Berlin, Max-Ophüls-Preis and IFF Rotterdam. Young Berlin doctor Fabian tries to win back his architect girlfriend Doro in Lisbon but is thwarted by his unrelenting jealousy. "Jonas Rothlaender's FADO is an atmospheric study that sees sexual jealousy turn into a claustrophobic melodrama." (Perlentaucher)
After a first night back together, Fabian’s old fears and anxieties start to overwhelm him. Fabian tries but fails to suppress his jealousy over Doro’s close friendship with her charismatic colleague, Francisco.
During a trip to the Atlantic coast the tension between Doro and Fabian escalates, and the couple is driven apart and confronted with the depth of his fears, Fabian spirals into a pyschotic nightmare.

"Rarely has German cinema of the past few years been as innovative, emotional, colorful and brutal as Christian Morismüller's new film, ICONS OF LIGHT, which premiered at the Filmfestival Max-Ophüls-Preis." (Max Fischer / We are Movies)
Katharina (Theresa Scholze) and Steffen (Max Riemelt) seem like the quintessential successful Berlin couple – they have well-paying jobs, a loving relationship and a spectacular apartment. One night, fed up with the predictability of their lives, they decide on a radical change: They’re going to extinguish all traces of their existence and start over.
They set up a camera to film the process, hoping others will follow their lead. They begin to destroy their belongings, empty their bank accounts and erase the digital remnants of their lives. Even from their best friends, the couple Robert and Paul, they intend to hide their plan to disappear forever. As everything around them breaks into pieces, their film takes a turn of its own – and their secretive revolution becomes a fight for their love.

Max Hegewald's new directorial work EAT SNOW was invited to play in the competition section for mid-length features at the Max Ophüls Prize Festival. The film is devoted to a difficult topic: suicide among teenagers.
Based on a true story, it accompanies three girls - played by Carolyn Genzkow, Josefine Israel and Lisa Hrdina - who met each other in an online chat. They decide to meet in a secluded forest to carry out their plans to end their lives. The film concentrates on the moments just before the act when each of them is confronted with their decision. Hegewald ties in the backstory of his figures by integrating finely honed sequences from their lives prior to their first meeting in the woods.
“EAT SNOW is a bold film, not just because it tackles a sensitive subject, but also for the way the director handles it. Thanks to a healthy sense of humor and a few visual devices, he strips away some of the depressive darkness and succeeds in finding an innovative – and appropriate - way to address a social dark zone." (wirsindmovies.com)

The actor Max Hegewald (SCHERBENPARK, SCHNEE ESSEN, Weissensee, Nackt unter Wölfen) also studied screenwrtiting at the Filmuniversität Babelsberg Konrad Wolf. Love is not for winners - is the tag line of his directoral debut film NACHTSCHATTENGEWÄCHSE.
Hegewald won the Golden Gamera - Lilli Palmer & Curd Jürgens as best acting newcomer in 2011. In 2012 he was nominated for the New Faces Award as best newcomer actor; Günter Strack TV Prize 2014; nomination for the Jupiter Award in2015. It is astonishing that Max Hegewald also finds the time for screenwriting and direction. His NACHTSCHATTENGEWÄCHSE premiered at the 'Mittellanger Film' competition of the Max-Ophüls-Preis film festival, and thus competed directly with Hegewald's other directorial work SCHNEE ESSEN.
The story in NACHTSCHATTENGEWÄCHSE centers on Manuel, an autism-prone gardener at the botanical garden. While his mother nags him to finally find a woman, Manuel much prefers to live in his own cocoon made of plants and flowers. But the young ice cream vendor Victoria has cast an eye on the timid gardener. Her efforts to get closer to Manuel know no bounds and violate more than one limit.
"I was not able to make a big changes to the screenplay. I thought it was a very sweet, little love story, almost like a fairy tale movie, and then I said, ok then, we have to make a fairy tale movie and go a bit over the top with it." (Max Hegewald)

SCHWARZER PANTHER, nominated for the FIRST STEPS Award, is the DFFB final film by Gaetan Innocent Varone (camera), Luis Singer (producer) and Samuel Perriard (director). Completed with crowdfunding, it tells the story of love between a brother and sister and the beauty of the forbidden.
Emilie and Jacob cannot help feeling a deep love for each other. After the death of their parents, they meet in the mountains after being apart for many years. Emilie shares her sadness about the loss of their parents, but also a well-hidden secret. Can the two siblings really live a love that must remain invisible, a love that is source of hope and fear at the same time.
Samuel Perriard's stylized corporeality - the extremely closeup, high resolution erotic sequences - are an ode to the beauty of the forbidden. These are coupled with the visual intensity of landscape - high rock walls, snowcapped mountains and deserted valleys. The Swiss landscape is a fairy tale backdrop reflecting the forbidden feelings of the siblings.
"Wonderful - tragic - flickering and drifting - inevitable - consistent and hopeful. That's the mood of the movie for me." (Samuel Perriard)

Young German talent Anna Kohlschütter won the "Best Medium-length Film" Award at achtung berlin for REBECCA, a German Mumblecore study about a young woman adrift in Berlin.
Rebecca has recently split up with Ben. She now lives in the shared flat of her best friend, sleeping on the sofa in a walk-through room. Rebecca is restless, walking through the streets of the big city, drifting. Rebecca goes to see her father in a nursing home almost every day. She meets Philipp but she does not really know herself what is going on between the two of them.
REBECCA is part of the German Mumblecore Edition, presented by Achtung Berlin New Berlin Film Award, which includes, among others, DICKE MÄDCHEN, STILLER FRÜHLING, MÄNNER ZEIGEN FILME & FRAUEN IHRE BRÜSTE, and KOHLHAAS ODER DIE VERHÄLTNISMÄSSIGKEIT DER MITTEL.
The achtung berlin jury had this to say about Kohlschütter's graduation film from the 'IFS Internationale Filmschule Köln': "Precisely staged throughout, there is an ease and originality to the look and feel of both the visuals and the narrative. REBECCA shines in all the disciplines of filmmaking. Without relying on a a lot of music, yet with a clear cut rhythm and a coherent film and costume design, Anna Kohlschütter has created a film of breathtaking intensity."

CONTACT International Student Film Festivals; Filmfest Düsseldorf; International Film Festival Message To Man; Tel Aviv 16th International Student Film Festival; new talents biennale; Achtung berlin – new berlin film Award

Ocean without water, eternal low tide. As the water disappeared, so did the children of the village. Sebastian Hilger's directorial debut WIR SIND DIE FLUT weaves a sci-fi drama exploring the notion of proximity and distance.
15 years ago, the sea disappeared off the coast of Windholm. The tide went out, and from that time on, it stayed out. For no apparent reason, just so. Since then, this anomaly creates discomfort, like a curse on the environment. Jana and Micha, two young physicists, set out to discover what's behind the mysterious phenomenon. Once in Windholm, they are drawn into the spell of a lonely village community without children.
"In young German film, the precision and virtuosity of a cinematographic etude in WIR SIND DIE FLUT is a rarity." (Mirror)

Winner of Best Feature at the 2016 achtung berlin new berlin film award, LOTTE by Julius Schultheiß is about cheeky wit and verve and surviving Berlin.
LOTTE, with her cocky, big city attitude, is impulsive and rough around the edges. No wonder she's constantly clashing with her work mates, girlfriends and even her boyfriend... Now he's thrown her out of their shared flat and spends all of her energy trying to find a place to stay. This is LOTTTE's colourful life on the streets of Berlin, stumbling from man to man, and flat to flat.
"Karin Hanczewski's amazing portrayal of the tough, night owl Lotte is carried off with level-headed impertinence that is very much Berlin" (Tagesspiegel).

After the catastrophic events in Fukushima, the transition to renewable energy was placed firmly on the political agenda in Germany. This envirnomental documentary by young, Berlin based filmmaker Philipp von Becker looks at the various issues surrounding the so-called 'energy shift' to green power in Germany.
Wind power is a preferred energy source. As a result, ever-increasing numbers of wind turbines are built across the country, casting an expanding mark on previously unspoilt landscapes. In the countryside, the construction of wind parks faces huge opposition - especially if the plants are built in forests. By examining the controversy over wind farms in the forests of central Germany, the film poses fundamental questions: How does renewable energy, which should protect nature, paradoxically threaten it? How far are we willing to preserve landscapes to keep them free from industrial overdevelopment? What are we willing to sacrifice to keep our energy-intensive lifestyles? Do we need to abandon the paradigm of permanent growth?

In her debut film, Young German talent Sabrina Jäger brings to the screen a prize-winning documentary about the death of small businesses in rural Germany. A tragicomic story of the last two employees at Praktiker Markt. A film about dignity and courage, a hopeful testimony in a world of global economic crises.
With heads held high outrage in their hearts, the workers at the home and hobby center have to make it through the closing week of store they worked at for many, many years. Praktiker Markt in Buschsal-Hildesheim is going out of business and everything must go, including their jobs.

The directorial debut SIN & ILLY STILL ALIVE by Maria Hengge is a gritty, realistic portrait of drug addiction, “A Christiane F. for the 21st century.” (Claus Löser, Berliner Zeitung).
The young woman Sin is addicted to heroin and wants to get clean. Her plan is to leave gray, cold Frankfurt and fly to a Greek island where she will give up drugs. Sin sells blank prescriptions that she stole from her father's medical practice to get the money she needs for the flights. Sin separates from her boyfriend Leon and tries to win her friend, the young prostitute Illy, to go with her. Illy recently lost her pimp, Mesuth. However, the two girls don'T get very far. Looking for Illy's passport they get stranded at a campsite near the Frankfurt airport. Using the mobile home owned by Illy ́s alcoholic mother, the story reveals all the misery of addiction and hopelessness and shows a realistic, unsparing look at the endless cycle of drugs, alcohol and drug-related crime, which Sin wants to escape by any means possible, but she can manage it only by burning all bridges behind her.

Lichter Filmfest Frankfurt International: White Bembel Award for best feature film; International Film Awards Berlin: Best Actress; Montelupo International Independent Film Festival: Best Director; Buzz Cee International Film Festival, Romania: Best Feature Film; World of Film International Festival, Scotland: Best Feature Award – Female Perspective; Manhattan Independent Film Festival: Best Narrative Feature Film

With a cast of actors moonlighting as musicians (German babyfaced enfant terrible Robert Stadlober, who also co-directed), musicians dabbling in acting with the frontmen of premier German indie bands Einstürzende Neubauten (Blixa Bargeld) and Tocotronic (Dirk von Lowtzow) and acclaimed young actress Paula Kalenberg, director-author Patrick Siegfried Zimmer has created a pitch black satire that expresses our current longing for meaning and veracity.
The world in the year 2020. Plagued by sensory overload through digital media and driven by narcissistic, hedonistic and careerist urges implanted by the Establishment, millions of humans succumb everyday to the first ever worldwide epidemic of anhedonia, the inability to feel pleasure and satisfaction. Two exemplary cases are the very different, but inseparable aristocratic brothers Franz (Robert Stadlober) and Fritz Freudenthal (Wieland Schönfelder). They vegetate in their senseless and deplorable fun-free existence until they discover the new and groundbreaking pleasure-stimuli therapy of world famous psychotherapist Prof. Dr. Immanuel Young (Dirk von Lowtzow). The Freundthal brothers pin all their hopes on the unorthodox medical technique.